Air Force worried about presidential jet maintenance in Texas

Updated 1:39 pm, Friday, September 14, 2012

The Boeing-built Air Force One lands near the Museum of Flight, Thursday, May 10, 2012, in Seattle. President Barack Obama was in town for fundraising events.

The Boeing-built Air Force One lands near the Museum of Flight, Thursday, May 10, 2012, in Seattle. President Barack Obama was in town for fundraising events.

Photo: AP

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Air Force One taxis on the runway at Boeing Field on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, bringing President Barack Obama into town for a fundraising event.

Air Force One taxis on the runway at Boeing Field on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, bringing President Barack Obama into town for a fundraising event.

Photo: LINDSEY WASSON

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President Barack Obama waves as he departs Seattle aboard Air Force One at Boeing Field on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, after a fundraising visit for his campaign and an overnight stay in Bellevue.

President Barack Obama waves as he departs Seattle aboard Air Force One at Boeing Field on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, after a fundraising visit for his campaign and an overnight stay in Bellevue.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO

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Air Force One, carrying U.S. President Barack Obama, prepares to take off at Boeing Field on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, after a fundraising visit for the President's campaign and an overnight stay in Bellevue.

Air Force One, carrying U.S. President Barack Obama, prepares to take off at Boeing Field on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, after a fundraising visit for the President's campaign and an overnight stay in Bellevue.

Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO

Air Force worried about presidential jet maintenance in Texas

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The U.S. Air Force is worried that Boeing won't have enough experienced workers in Texas to properly maintain the 747s that fly the president, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Boeing is moving the maintenance work to San Antonio as part of its plan to close its plant in Wichita, Kan.

Ensuring a qualified workforce in San Antonio "is one of the most important aspects of the move yet least successful to date," the Air Force wrote in a July 30 letter to Boeing, which Bloomberg obtained from an unnamed source.

Mechanics and other Air Force One specialists must have five years' experience on that jet or on comparable special-mission planes, Bloomberg reported.

Seven members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the union representing Boeing engineers, were offered transfers to Texas, and none accepted, according to the story. SPEEA is in the middle of contentious contract negotiations with Boeing.

The Air Force has two highly modified 747s that fly the president. They use the call sign Air Force One when the president is aboard.